The death of a beloved pet is a completely normal, physiological phenomenon. But we are accustomed to perceive it with bitterness - after all, our four-legged friend will no longer be nearby. The more categorical the owners are about euthanasia. It’s better to let the pet live longer and come to a natural death, they think. However, will this be a benefit for him, especially if he is seriously ill, and every breath is difficult for him? Hardly. For this purpose, euthanasia was invented.
- Why is euthanasia needed?
- The essence of euthanasia.
- Where can you euthanize a cat?
- How to properly euthanize a cat
- Why is euthanasia necessary?
Euthanasia, or scientifically euthanasia, is the process of artificially killing a pet. It should only be used in cases where:
- the pet has an incurable disease - malignant tumors;
- an elderly pet who, as they say, is “barely breathing his last breath”;
- the animal suffers greatly, suffers;
- the pet has anthrax;
- The cat has a fatal infection, such as rabies.
In addition to all of the above, euthanasia is actively used to get rid of stray and stray cats. Although various animal rights organizations hold rallies for the abolition of euthanasia, millions of stray animals are euthanized every year around the world.
Some owners resort to euthanasia after their pet received some kind of injury: had an accident, fell from a window. Having a disabled pet is very inconvenient, but you need to have moral responsibility for your actions in order to decide to euthanize an injured animal. The same can be said about the financial side of things. Often, treating an animal requires a large amount of money, without which the owners take this step - they euthanize it. Doing this is also immoral, since money should never become a reason for taking the life of a pet. There is always an alternative - cheaper drugs, help from caring people.
Drowning of puppies or kittens cannot be considered euthanasia. This looks more like barbarism than humane euthanasia. Among all the known methods of euthanasia, there are also not the most humane ones. This is euthanasia by electric current, the injection of ammonia or alcohol into the lungs. With these methods of euthanasia, the animal experiences shock and pain. If you want your pet to leave calmly and without suffering, then it is better not to use these methods.
Use of lidocaine solution in cats
Lidocaine, also known as Xylocaine®
, is an anesthetic used in cats to treat abnormal heart rhythms or cardiac arrhythmias. It is also used as a local anesthetic, such as numbing the skin for suturing.
An anesthetic is a medicine that prevents sensations such as pain. Local or regional anesthesia prevents pain in a limited area or specific area of the body. In contrast, general anesthesia prevents pain, but also causes loss of consciousness and general muscle relaxation.
Lidocaine is a local anesthetic commonly used in veterinary procedures to provide local or regional anesthesia.
Lidocaine is also an antiarrhythmic drug that prevents or treats certain heart rhythm problems. Lidocaine works by preventing the activity of nerve or cardiac cell membranes. By blocking the entry of sodium ions, the cell cannot transmit messages from cell to cell.
Lidocaine is an effective and strong local anesthetic and also works in cats. It may be mixed with epinephrine to maximize the anesthetic effect. Adrenaline constricts blood vessels, allowing lidocaine to remain in local tissues. However, lidocaine with epinephrine should never be used to control heart rate in cats.
Lidocaine is a prescription drug and can only be obtained from a veterinarian or with a prescription from a veterinarian. This medicine is approved for use in animals, including cats.
Veterinarians legally prescribe it as an unlabeled drug.
What's the result?
Now you generally know how pets are euthanized. We told you how much it costs to painlessly euthanize a dog or cat, what drugs are used for the procedure and what the essence of its stages is.
Finally, let us remind you once again that the decision about whether or not to do euthanasia is up to you. But still, it is often more humane to euthanize a cat than to condemn it to meaningless suffering that can last for many more weeks.
By choosing euthanasia, you will be allowing your four-legged family member to pass away with dignity, and it will be the best thank you for the joy he has given you over the years.
Use of lidocaine for cats
Lidocaine is commonly used as a topical and topical anesthetic.
The drug must be administered in close proximity to the wound or operation. It can also be used as an epidural (“spinal”) anesthesia to prevent pain in an area of the body (regional anesthesia).
Lidocaine is also used to treat abnormal heart rhythms or cardiac arrhythmias. The benefits of lidocaine for heart rhythm are generally limited to the treatment of ventricular arrhythmias diagnosed by electrocardiogram (ECG).
Precautions and side effects
Although the drug is generally safe and effective in cats at normal doses when prescribed by a veterinarian, it may cause side effects in some animals.
Lidocaine should not be used in cats with hypersensitivity or allergies to the drug. Xylocaine may interact with other medications. Check with your veterinarian to determine if other medications your pet is receiving may interact with it. Such medications include propranolol, cimetidine, and procainamide.
Caution should be used whenever lidocaine is used in cats, as they tend to be particularly sensitive to the drug, especially overdoses. Lidocaine should not be used in cats with certain heart blocks.
or certain abnormal heart rhythms. Caution should be used if lidocaine is used in cats with liver problems, heart failure, or respiratory problems.
Serious side effects are rare.
At high doses, the most common side effects of lidocaine are drowsiness, unsteadiness, tremors, vomiting or seizures, and sometimes death. Lidocaine is used in the humane euthanasia procedure for cats. Never use it yourself at home, as this drug is one of a combination.
Fifth stage. Cremation
Even before the veterinarian euthanizes your dog, you need to decide what you will do with his body. If after euthanasia you will not be able to take your pet’s lifeless body far into the forest for burial, order cremation of the remains at a special zoo crematorium.
When the specialist euthanizes the animal, he will place its body in a special container and take it with him for subsequent burning. We recommend choosing individual cremation: its price is higher, but the ashes of your pet will be returned to you, collected in a ritual urn.
Lidocaine Dosing Information for Cats
Medications should never be administered without first consulting a veterinarian.
For topical and topical anesthesia, lidocaine is prescribed until the desired effect, numbness, is achieved. For cardiac arrhythmias, an initial dose of 0.5 to 1 mg/kg is given intravenously followed by a continuous intravenous infusion (IV drip) of (5 to 20 mg/kg). kg) per minute. Doses in cats are typically one-fourth the dose in dogs and must be administered very slowly.
After some time, the animal is slowly weaned off the lidocaine infusion. An ECG helps determine whether the arrhythmias have been corrected or whether more lidocaine or another antiarrhythmic drug needs to be given. Multimodal lidocaine analgesia is widely used in cats. The dose of the drug is 20-50 mcg/kg/minute. This dose gives a pronounced analgesic effect. Lidocaine toxicity in cats occurs through overdose or accidental intravenous ingestion.
How is the euthanasia of a healthy animal assessed from the point of view of the law and doctors?
If we talk about legislation, then in 2022 the law “On the Responsible Treatment of Animals” was adopted. It prohibits owners from refusing to fulfill their responsibilities for maintaining an animal until it is placed in a shelter or alienated by any other legal means. Legal methods of alienation are not declared here, so the question of how painless euthanasia can be considered such a legal method remains open.
Euthanasia without medical indications or without compelling social indications is impossible. Although, in fact, the owner may insist on euthanizing an unwanted pet, but whether or not to carry out the procedure remains the choice of the veterinarian.
Lidocaine hydrochloride – Lidocaini hydrochloridum
Synonyms: xycaine, xylocaine, lidestin. White or almost white crystalline powder. Very soluble in water, soluble in alcohol. Ampoules of 10 ml of 1% solution are produced; 2 and 10 ml of 2% solution and 2 ml of 10% solution. A powerful local anesthetic for cats, effective for almost all types of anesthesia. Its anesthetic activity is 2.5 times greater than novocaine and lasts 2 times longer. Well tolerated, does not have a local irritating effect. It is not an antimetabolite of para-aminobenzoic acid, therefore it is compatible with sulfonamides. It has an antiarrhythmic effect, increases the permeability of membranes for potassium ions, and improves conductivity in Purkinje fibers.
Lidocaine is used for all types of local anesthesia:
- for infiltration – 0.25-0.5% solution
- for conductor – 1-2%
- for superficial – 1-2%
For infiltration anesthesia, use no more than 10 ml/kg of the drug, and for conduction anesthesia - 1 ml/kg. It is one of the most effective drugs that eliminates ventricular extrasystole and ventricular tachycardia. Lidocaine is administered slowly intravenously as an antiarrhythmic agent at a dose of 2 mg/kg. Not. It is recommended to prescribe adrenaline.
Cats develop seizures when lidocaine is administered, so for them the dose is reduced to 0.2 mg/kg. Lidocaine is quickly metabolized in the body, therefore, to maintain the therapeutic effect, it is necessary to establish a constant infusion of the drug at a dose of 50-100 mcg/kg/min. With rapid entry of the drug into the vascular bed, a decrease in blood pressure and collapse may be observed. In this case, ephedrine and other adrenergic agonists should be administered for therapeutic purposes.
In emergency cases, with the development of life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias for the animal, appropriate antiarrhythmic therapy is indicated, including intravenous administration of lidocaine (20 mg/kg, 3 times; if necessary, continuous infusion at a rate of 40-80 mcg/kg/min). 2-4 mg/kg is administered to animals intravenously or intramuscularly, and to cats - 0.2-1 mg/kg for 4-5 minutes.
Learn about essential drugs in animals
- Instructions for use of Dirofen in cats
- Instructions for use of Vetom in cats. Calculate the optimal dose of the drug for cats. Explore the breadth of Vetom's probiotic effect for the comprehensive treatment of multiple pathologies in cats
- Instructions for using multifel in cats. The optimal dose of the drug for cats. Explore the breadth of the preventive effect of Multifel-4 for the comprehensive fight against multiple infections in cats
- Instructions for use of fosprenil in cats
- Instructions for the use of Kotervin in cats. Explore the breadth of the anti-inflammatory, saluretic effect of Cotervin for the complex treatment of many pathologies in cats
- Instructions for use of Cat Bayun in cats. Explore the breadth of sedative effects of Kotbayun for the complex treatment of many pathologies in cats
- Instructions for the use of feliferon in cats. Explore the breadth of the immunomodulatory effect of feliferon for the complex treatment of many pathologies in cats
- Instructions for using stronghold in cats. Explore the breadth of the antiparasitic effect of Stronghold Spot On for cats.
- Instructions for use of Milbemax in cats. Milbemax - for the complex treatment of many pathologies in cats
- Information about the drug Gamavit, features of its use are provided, excerpts from the instructions are collected, doses for cats are indicated, indications and contraindications for the use of Gamavit for cats
- Instructions for the use of spirovet in animals. Calculate the optimal dose of the drug in dogs, cats, pigs, cows, sheep, goats. Explore the breadth of the antibacterial effect of Spirovet in veterinary medicine
- Instructions for the use of tiamulin in birds and animals. Calculate the optimal dose of the drug in dogs, cats, pigs, cows, sheep, goats, chickens, turkeys, broilers. Explore the breadth of tiamulin's antibacterial effects in veterinary medicine
- Instructions for use of Sevaxel in animals. Calculate the optimal dose of the drug in dogs, cats, pigs, cows, sheep, goats. Explore the breadth of sevaxel's antibacterial effects in veterinary medicine
- Instructions for the use of thiam-oxy in animals. Calculate the optimal dose of the drug in pigs. Explore the breadth of antibacterial effects of thiam-oxy in veterinary medicine
- Instructions for the use of tetravet in animals. Calculate the optimal dose of the drug in dogs, cats, pigs, cows, sheep, goats. Explore the breadth of tetravet's antibacterial effects in veterinary medicine
- Instructions for the use of TAF 25% in chickens, turkeys and other animals. Calculate the optimal dose of the drug in birds. Explore the breadth of the antibacterial effect of TAF 25% a in veterinary medicine
- Instructions for the use of cefkinome in animals. Calculate the optimal dose of the drug in pigs, cows, sheep, goats, horses, dogs and cats. Explore the breadth of cefkinome's antibacterial effects in veterinary medicine
- Instructions for the use of intramycin in animals. Calculate the optimal dose of the drug in dogs, cats, pigs, cows, sheep, goats. Explore the breadth of intramycin's antibacterial effects in veterinary medicine
- Instructions for the use of inotil in animals. Calculate the optimal dose of the drug in dogs, cats, pigs, cows, sheep, goats. Explore the breadth of inotil's antibacterial effects in veterinary medicine
- Instructions for the use of cobactan in dogs. Calculate the optimal dose of the drug. Explore the breadth of the antibacterial effect of cobactan in cats
- Instructions for the use of coliside in animals. Calculate the optimal dose of the drug in birds, pigs, cows, sheep, goats. Explore the breadth of coliside's antibacterial effects in veterinary medicine
- Instructions for the use of Marbox in animals. Calculate the optimal dose of the drug in dogs, cats, pigs, cows, sheep, goats. Explore the breadth of Marbox's antibacterial effects in veterinary medicine
- Instructions for the use of inosel in animals. Calculate the optimal dose of the drug in dogs, cats, pigs, cows, sheep, goats. Explore the breadth of the antibacterial effect of the drug inosel in veterinary medicine
- Instructions for the use of oxytetra in animals. Calculate the optimal dose of the drug in dogs, cats, pigs, cows, sheep, goats. Explore the breadth of oxytetra's antibacterial effects in veterinary medicine
^Top
